In-flight entertainment and connectivity (IFE or entertainment) systems have been deployed onboard aircraft to provide entertainment, such as internet access, movies, television, audio entertainment programming, electronic games, and other electronic content to passengers. IFE systems are increasingly using wireless devices that can be operated by passengers to display content from the internet. Such user devices can include passenger electronic devices (PEDs) that are transported onto the aircraft by the passengers and seat video display units (SVDUs) that may be in communication with passenger control units (PCUs) supplied as aircraft equipment. Such PEDs can include cellular phones, tablet computers, laptop computers, wireless headphones, etc. Passengers can operate the user devices to connect to the internet and select internet content for playback or display through the user devices.
Some government regulations require verification of the identity of a person prior to granting internet access to that person. For example, Chinese regulations require that Internet Service Providers (ISPs) collect government issued identification information of an individual (e.g., passport number, full name, address, date of birth, etc.) before internet service can be provided to the individual. In China, for example, an ISP manually collects the individual's government issued identification information, validates the information (e.g., by manually inspecting the government identification document), and manually inputs validation of the individual's government identification into the ISP's system. This process, however, is not feasible inside an aircraft or other vehicle.